Senior Lecturer in Leadership Studies

Since 2007 Dr. Adarves-Yorno has been exploring what areas resonate not only with her intellect but with her whole self. She is particularly interested in the contradictions between our inner and outer lives, some of which are reflected in her work on paradoxes of authentic leaders.

Since 2011 she has been working on change agency. She has been studying their resources, challenges and influence and has used a conscious personal development system for their training. This work is informed by her authentic leadership approach as well as by the social identity approach. The development program actively seeks to restructure the personal infrastructure of change agents while also allows them to understand and utilise their social infrastructure. One of her newest projects is done in collaboration with the African Prison System and revolves around developing authentic leaders and change agents in the Ugandan and Kenyan Prison System.

A key element of her leadership and change agency training revolves around Mindfulness. Her research is exploring, among other things, the impact of mindfulness on areas such as resilience, uncertainty and identity. Furthermore, she is working on a research project “Mindfulness within and beyond the individual” which looks at the identity and socio-contextual factors that impact on our motivations to engage with mindfulness practice. Finally she is co-creating self-discovery and Mindfulness handbooks which will be tailored for a range of people ranging from business students to prisoners in Kenya.

Dr. Inmaculada Adarves-Yorno started conducting research in 1996. She has worked and collaborated in a wide range of topics (including ‘perverse norms‘, discrimination, affirmative action, social influence, framing, leadership and health related behaviour) with a number of researchers from Europe and Australia.

Some of her previous research legacy revolves around developing the Social Identity Approach to Creativity together with Prof. Alex Haslam and Prof. Tom Postmes. They have published a range of high impact papers on this area, including a paper in Personality and Social Psychology Review and articles in the Scientific American Mind.

As a practitioner, Dr. Adarves-Yorno worked for over five years as an organisational psychologist (CEO advisor and HR manager) for an engineering company in Spain. She has particular expertise in areas such as leadership, organisational commitment, communication, performance and employee wellbeing.

Adarves-Yorno I, Alexander Haslam S, Postmes T (2008). And now for something completely different? the impact of group membership on perceptions of creativity. Social Influence, 3(4), 248-266.

Abstract:And now for something completely different? the impact of group membership on perceptions of creativity

A wealth of historical, cultural, and biographical evidence points to the fact that there is considerable variation in different people's judgments of creative products. What is creative to one person is deviant to another, and creative efforts often fail to be given the enthusiastic reception that their creators anticipate and think they deserve. Unpacking the roots of these discrepancies, this paper develops an analysis of creativity that is informed by the social identity approach. This analysis is supported by a review of previous research that points to the way in which perceptions of creativity are structured by both self-categorization and social norms (and their interaction). Further support for the analysis is provided by two experiments (Ns=100, 125) which support the hypothesis that ingroup products are perceived to be more creative than those of outgroups independently of other factors with which group membership is typically correlated in the world at large (e.g. quality). The studies also indicate that this pattern is not simply a manifestation of generic ingroup bias since judgments of creativity diverge from those of both likeability (Experiment 1) and beauty (Experiment 2). The theoretical and practical significance of these findings is discussed with particular reference to innovation resistance and the "not invented here" syndrome.

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2007). Creative innovation or crazy irrelevance?. The contribution of group norms and social identity to creative behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(3), 410-416.

Abstract:Creative innovation or crazy irrelevance?. The contribution of group norms and social identity to creative behavior

This paper develops an analysis of innovative behavior and creativity that is informed by the social identity perspective. Two studies manipulated group norms and analyzed their impact on creative behavior. The results of Study I show that when people are asked to make a creative product collectively they display conformity to ingroup norms, but that they deviate from ingroup norms when group members make the same products on their own. A parallel result was found in group members' private perceptions of what they consider creative. In Study 2, the social identity of participants was made salient. Results showed conformity to group norms even when group members worked on their own creations. Findings suggest that innovative behavior is informed by normative context, and that in contexts in which people operate as members of a group (either physically through collective action, or psychologically through social identity salience) innovation will respect normative boundaries. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publications by category

Journal articles

Abstract:Creativity is collective

Psychologists and other commentators have always treated creativity as the ultimate expression of human individuality. However, to fully understand creativity we need to look beyond the individual:. Groups and social context give creativity both form and force.

Jeanrenaud SJ, Adarves-Yorno, I, Forsans, N (2015). Exploring a One Planet Mindset and its Relevance in a Transition to a Sustainable Economy. Building Sustainable Legacies(5. Reframing the Game: the Transition to a. New Sustainable Economy).

Abstract:Exploring a One Planet Mindset and its Relevance in a Transition to a Sustainable Economy

Exeter’s One Planet MBA (OP MBA), co-founded and delivered with WWF International, is helping develop a new generation of business leaders, integrating sustainability thinking across its business education curriculum, and fostering a “One Planet Mindset”. But what is a One Planet Mindset? and what is its significance in a transition to a sustainable economy? This paper draws on the sustainability and management literature, and explorations with students to offer some preliminary reflections on these questions. It makes the case that a One Planet Mindset aggregates knowledge, values and skills which help deliver positive outcomes for people, planet and prosperity. It engages a new metaphor of nature as a living planet – one that recognizes that the health of the economy is rooted in, and not independent of, living planetary systems. Such a mindset provides a powerful lever for transforming, self, business and society in the contested transition to a sustainable economy.

Abstract:The collective origins of valued originality: a social identity approach to creativity.

Prevailing approaches to individual and group creativity have focused on personal factors that contribute to creative behavior (e.g. personality, intelligence, motivation), and the processes of behaving creatively and appreciating creativity are understood to be largely unrelated. This article uses social identity and self-categorization theories as the basis for a model of creativity that addresses these lacunae by emphasizing the role that groups play in stimulating and shaping creative acts and in determining the reception they are given. We argue that shared social identity (or lack of it) motivates individuals to rise to particular creative challenges and provides a basis for certain forms of creativity to be recognized (or disregarded). Empirical work informed by this approach supports eight novel hypotheses relating to individual, group, and systemic dimensions of the creativity process. These also provide an agenda for future creativity research.

Adarves-Yorno I, Alexander Haslam S, Postmes T (2008). And now for something completely different? the impact of group membership on perceptions of creativity. Social Influence, 3(4), 248-266.

Abstract:And now for something completely different? the impact of group membership on perceptions of creativity

A wealth of historical, cultural, and biographical evidence points to the fact that there is considerable variation in different people's judgments of creative products. What is creative to one person is deviant to another, and creative efforts often fail to be given the enthusiastic reception that their creators anticipate and think they deserve. Unpacking the roots of these discrepancies, this paper develops an analysis of creativity that is informed by the social identity approach. This analysis is supported by a review of previous research that points to the way in which perceptions of creativity are structured by both self-categorization and social norms (and their interaction). Further support for the analysis is provided by two experiments (Ns=100, 125) which support the hypothesis that ingroup products are perceived to be more creative than those of outgroups independently of other factors with which group membership is typically correlated in the world at large (e.g. quality). The studies also indicate that this pattern is not simply a manifestation of generic ingroup bias since judgments of creativity diverge from those of both likeability (Experiment 1) and beauty (Experiment 2). The theoretical and practical significance of these findings is discussed with particular reference to innovation resistance and the "not invented here" syndrome.

Abstract:High Performance Leadership: Narratives of identity and control in corporate leadership development and performance management

This article reviews the outcomes of a three year workshop series with senior leadership and management development managers from a range of public and private sector organisations. The aim of this enquiry was to explore the interface between performance management and leadership development systems and the extent to which they can complement one another to offer a coherent progression and performance framework. A number of competing and inter-related dynamics were uncovered that influence the extent to which performance management systems facilitate appropriate and desirable forms of behaviour in organisations and the extent to which these are supported and reinforced through leadership development. The most significant of these influences was seen to be one of identity and the impact that these systems can have on a sense of shared ‘social identity’ and purpose. By way of conclusion we argue that the narrative function of corporate leadership systems in expressing ‘who we are’ and ‘what we value’ is equally, if not more, important in determining their impact (positive or negative) than their corrective or developmental capacity per se.

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2007). Creative innovation or crazy irrelevance?. The contribution of group norms and social identity to creative behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(3), 410-416.

Abstract:Creative innovation or crazy irrelevance?. The contribution of group norms and social identity to creative behavior

This paper develops an analysis of innovative behavior and creativity that is informed by the social identity perspective. Two studies manipulated group norms and analyzed their impact on creative behavior. The results of Study I show that when people are asked to make a creative product collectively they display conformity to ingroup norms, but that they deviate from ingroup norms when group members make the same products on their own. A parallel result was found in group members' private perceptions of what they consider creative. In Study 2, the social identity of participants was made salient. Results showed conformity to group norms even when group members worked on their own creations. Findings suggest that innovative behavior is informed by normative context, and that in contexts in which people operate as members of a group (either physically through collective action, or psychologically through social identity salience) innovation will respect normative boundaries. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2006). Social identity and the recognition of creativity in groups. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45(Pt 3), 479-497.

Abstract:Social identity and the recognition of creativity in groups.

This paper develops an analysis of creativity that is informed by the social identity approach. Two studies are reported that support this analysis. Study 1 (N=73) manipulated social identity salience and the content of group norms. The group norm was either conservative (i.e. promoted no change) or progressive (i.e. promoted change). When social identity was salient and the group norm was conservative, a non-novel proposal was perceived to be more creative. Study 2 (N=63) manipulated social norms and identity relevance. Results showed that while social norms influenced perceptions of creativity, identity relevance influenced positivity but not perceptions of creativity. These findings support the idea that perceptions of creativity are grounded in the normative content of group membership and self-categorization processes.

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2006). The contribution of group norms and level of identity to innovative behaviour and perception of creativity. Australian Journal of Psychology, 58, 16-16.

iayorno, Hornsey MJ, Jetten J (2006). When group members admit to being conformist: the role of relative intragroup status in conformity self-reports. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(2), 162-173.

Abstract:When group members admit to being conformist: the role of relative intragroup status in conformity self-reports

Five studies examined the hypothesis that people will strategically portray the self as being more group influenced the more junior they feel within the group. Among social psychologists (Study 1), ratings of self-conformity by group members were greater when the status of the participant was low than when it was high. These effects were replicated in Studies 2, 3, and 4 in which relative intragroup status was manipulated. In Study 3, the authors found junior group members described themselves as more conformist than senior members when they were addressing an ingroup audience, but when they were addressing an outgroup audience the effect disappeared. Furthermore, junior members (but not senior members) rated themselves as more conformist when they were led to believe their responses were public than when responses were private (Study 5). The discussion focuses on the strategic processes underlying low-status group members' self-reports of group influence and the functional role of conformity in groups.

Abstract:Leadership and the paradoxes of authenticity

2015

Abstract:Creativity is collective

Psychologists and other commentators have always treated creativity as the ultimate expression of human individuality. However, to fully understand creativity we need to look beyond the individual:. Groups and social context give creativity both form and force.

Jeanrenaud SJ, Adarves-Yorno, I, Forsans, N (2015). Exploring a One Planet Mindset and its Relevance in a Transition to a Sustainable Economy. Building Sustainable Legacies(5. Reframing the Game: the Transition to a. New Sustainable Economy).

Abstract:Exploring a One Planet Mindset and its Relevance in a Transition to a Sustainable Economy

Exeter’s One Planet MBA (OP MBA), co-founded and delivered with WWF International, is helping develop a new generation of business leaders, integrating sustainability thinking across its business education curriculum, and fostering a “One Planet Mindset”. But what is a One Planet Mindset? and what is its significance in a transition to a sustainable economy? This paper draws on the sustainability and management literature, and explorations with students to offer some preliminary reflections on these questions. It makes the case that a One Planet Mindset aggregates knowledge, values and skills which help deliver positive outcomes for people, planet and prosperity. It engages a new metaphor of nature as a living planet – one that recognizes that the health of the economy is rooted in, and not independent of, living planetary systems. Such a mindset provides a powerful lever for transforming, self, business and society in the contested transition to a sustainable economy.

Abstract:The collective origins of valued originality: a social identity approach to creativity.

Prevailing approaches to individual and group creativity have focused on personal factors that contribute to creative behavior (e.g. personality, intelligence, motivation), and the processes of behaving creatively and appreciating creativity are understood to be largely unrelated. This article uses social identity and self-categorization theories as the basis for a model of creativity that addresses these lacunae by emphasizing the role that groups play in stimulating and shaping creative acts and in determining the reception they are given. We argue that shared social identity (or lack of it) motivates individuals to rise to particular creative challenges and provides a basis for certain forms of creativity to be recognized (or disregarded). Empirical work informed by this approach supports eight novel hypotheses relating to individual, group, and systemic dimensions of the creativity process. These also provide an agenda for future creativity research.

2008

Adarves-Yorno I, Alexander Haslam S, Postmes T (2008). And now for something completely different? the impact of group membership on perceptions of creativity. Social Influence, 3(4), 248-266.

Abstract:And now for something completely different? the impact of group membership on perceptions of creativity

A wealth of historical, cultural, and biographical evidence points to the fact that there is considerable variation in different people's judgments of creative products. What is creative to one person is deviant to another, and creative efforts often fail to be given the enthusiastic reception that their creators anticipate and think they deserve. Unpacking the roots of these discrepancies, this paper develops an analysis of creativity that is informed by the social identity approach. This analysis is supported by a review of previous research that points to the way in which perceptions of creativity are structured by both self-categorization and social norms (and their interaction). Further support for the analysis is provided by two experiments (Ns=100, 125) which support the hypothesis that ingroup products are perceived to be more creative than those of outgroups independently of other factors with which group membership is typically correlated in the world at large (e.g. quality). The studies also indicate that this pattern is not simply a manifestation of generic ingroup bias since judgments of creativity diverge from those of both likeability (Experiment 1) and beauty (Experiment 2). The theoretical and practical significance of these findings is discussed with particular reference to innovation resistance and the "not invented here" syndrome.

Abstract:High Performance Leadership: Narratives of identity and control in corporate leadership development and performance management

This article reviews the outcomes of a three year workshop series with senior leadership and management development managers from a range of public and private sector organisations. The aim of this enquiry was to explore the interface between performance management and leadership development systems and the extent to which they can complement one another to offer a coherent progression and performance framework. A number of competing and inter-related dynamics were uncovered that influence the extent to which performance management systems facilitate appropriate and desirable forms of behaviour in organisations and the extent to which these are supported and reinforced through leadership development. The most significant of these influences was seen to be one of identity and the impact that these systems can have on a sense of shared ‘social identity’ and purpose. By way of conclusion we argue that the narrative function of corporate leadership systems in expressing ‘who we are’ and ‘what we value’ is equally, if not more, important in determining their impact (positive or negative) than their corrective or developmental capacity per se.

2007

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2007). Creative innovation or crazy irrelevance?. The contribution of group norms and social identity to creative behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(3), 410-416.

Abstract:Creative innovation or crazy irrelevance?. The contribution of group norms and social identity to creative behavior

This paper develops an analysis of innovative behavior and creativity that is informed by the social identity perspective. Two studies manipulated group norms and analyzed their impact on creative behavior. The results of Study I show that when people are asked to make a creative product collectively they display conformity to ingroup norms, but that they deviate from ingroup norms when group members make the same products on their own. A parallel result was found in group members' private perceptions of what they consider creative. In Study 2, the social identity of participants was made salient. Results showed conformity to group norms even when group members worked on their own creations. Findings suggest that innovative behavior is informed by normative context, and that in contexts in which people operate as members of a group (either physically through collective action, or psychologically through social identity salience) innovation will respect normative boundaries. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2006

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2006). Social identity and the recognition of creativity in groups. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45(Pt 3), 479-497.

Abstract:Social identity and the recognition of creativity in groups.

This paper develops an analysis of creativity that is informed by the social identity approach. Two studies are reported that support this analysis. Study 1 (N=73) manipulated social identity salience and the content of group norms. The group norm was either conservative (i.e. promoted no change) or progressive (i.e. promoted change). When social identity was salient and the group norm was conservative, a non-novel proposal was perceived to be more creative. Study 2 (N=63) manipulated social norms and identity relevance. Results showed that while social norms influenced perceptions of creativity, identity relevance influenced positivity but not perceptions of creativity. These findings support the idea that perceptions of creativity are grounded in the normative content of group membership and self-categorization processes.

Adarves-Yorno I, Postmes T, Haslam SA (2006). The contribution of group norms and level of identity to innovative behaviour and perception of creativity. Australian Journal of Psychology, 58, 16-16.

iayorno, Hornsey MJ, Jetten J (2006). When group members admit to being conformist: the role of relative intragroup status in conformity self-reports. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(2), 162-173.

Abstract:When group members admit to being conformist: the role of relative intragroup status in conformity self-reports

Five studies examined the hypothesis that people will strategically portray the self as being more group influenced the more junior they feel within the group. Among social psychologists (Study 1), ratings of self-conformity by group members were greater when the status of the participant was low than when it was high. These effects were replicated in Studies 2, 3, and 4 in which relative intragroup status was manipulated. In Study 3, the authors found junior group members described themselves as more conformist than senior members when they were addressing an ingroup audience, but when they were addressing an outgroup audience the effect disappeared. Furthermore, junior members (but not senior members) rated themselves as more conformist when they were led to believe their responses were public than when responses were private (Study 5). The discussion focuses on the strategic processes underlying low-status group members' self-reports of group influence and the functional role of conformity in groups.

External engagement

Since 2014 Dr Adarves-Yorno has been collaborating with the African Prisons Project https://africanprisons.org/ as well as Kenyan Prison Services and four Maximum security prisons (Langata, Naivasha, Kamiti and Kodiaga).

Impact project

The impact project started by training Kenyan prison senior managers on authentic leadership. It has now evolved into an impact programme “Transforming the Kenyan prison services from the inside out”. One of the projects that emerged through engaged impact is the creation of the Inner Rehabilitation Programme in Kenyan Prisons. This programme is called Inner Rehabilitation for two reasons. Firstly, it comprises techniques, tools and practices for rehabilitating the inner self. For that purpose, inmates learn how to deal mindfully with their mind and their emotions. Secondly, the rehabilitation is mostly done among prisoners. That is, a great proportion of the mindfulness training is done by inmates for other inmates.

Research background:

This project is embedded in Dr. Adarves-Yorno current research programme “Mindfulness within and beyond the individual” which looks at three areas. First, what is the impact of mindfulness for individuals, specifically in helping deal with change? For example, mindfulness makes people more equipped to deal with ambivalence and uncertainty, and it helps people have more positive expectations of the future and positive emotions as well. Second, how can mindfulness benefit institutions, communities and the society? Third, how can others help us become more mindful?

Underlying this mindfulness research programme is Dr Adarves-Yorno’s social identity work. In that work, she explored the crucial impact of identity related factors (e.g., social identity, identification, identity salience and group norms) in relation to innovative ideas. The Inner Rehabilitation training in Kenyan prisons is an innovative initiative. During the last two years she has been translating those ideas around identity and innovation into action in her work in Naivasha (see case study in her forthcoming chapter from Oxford Handbook of Group Creativity).

The impact of creating social identities in Kenyan Prisons which revolve around mindfulness (e.g. mindful leadership) has been really powerful. In particular, research conducted in Naivasha shows that the more the inmates identify with the mindful leaders group, the higher their mental wellbeing, the more resilient they are and the more they value helpfulness, honesty and responsibility.

Scope of the project

360 people have already been trained on mindfulness at all levels of the Kenyan Prison Services from senior managers in Headquarters, to prison governors, prison guards and prisoners themselves.

2005 Award from the ESRC (ref: PTA-026-27-01166) of a 1 year Postdoctoral Fellowship.

2001 Award from the ESRC (ref: 2001-05-0526) of a 3 years PhD scholarship (fees only). - This scholarship was rejected in favour of the scholarship from Exeter University.
Award from the University of Exeter, School of Psychology of a 4 year PhD scholarship.

2000 Award from the British Council-La Caixa of one year MSc scholarship at University of Exeter. UK.

1998 Award from the Spanish Ministry of Work and Social Issues of two-year scholarship at the Health Department of the National Women Institute. Madrid, Spain.

1996 Award from the Spanish Ministry of Culture of a research scholarship at the Social Psychology Department. University Autonoma of Madrid. Spain.

Conferences and invited presentations

Development for Top Leaders (October 2006). Corporate Research Forum

Leadership and Teams: a social identity perspective (May 2007). CELEX

External positions

Ad hoc reviewer for the following journals:

Management Learning

Human Relations

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

British Journal of Social Psychology

International Journal of Psychology

European Journal of Social Psychology.

Academy of Management

Culture & Organization Journal

Journal of Management Spirituality and religion

External PhD examiner

(2007) Sharyn Herzig “the role of middle managers in organizational change”. University of Queensland

(2009) Cláudia Moreira Martins “Transformational leadership and gender in military organizations”. Complutense University of Madrid